'It was the right choice to come here,' new bench boss says of not coming to terms with Penguins

Canucks president Trevor Linden introduces the Vancouver Canucks new head coach Willie Desjardins.

VANCOUVER — Willie Desjardins had a decision to make and it wasn't an easy one.

Would he coach Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins or return to his western Canadian roots and join the Vancouver Canucks?

The Canucks, who introduced Desjardins as the 18th head coach in franchise history, are thankful he chose them.

"It was a real difficult one," Desjardins acknowledged during his introductory news conference Monday at Rogers Arena. "How could it not be difficult?"

Desjardins would not go into specifics, but it seems clear the Canucks promised him a certain degree of autonomy that the Penguins were not prepared to guarantee.

"It just couldn't quite work out in Pittsburgh and they had certain things they had to do," Desjardins said. "They had to do it and I understand why they did. There were certain things I felt I needed in order to be successful. It didn't come down to term or money or anything like that."

Desjardins, who earlier this month led the Texas Stars to the AHL's Calder Cup championship, wanted a big say in who his assistant coaches will be.

"You get one chance," he said. "You want to try and give yourself the best chance you can."

Desjardins has been waiting a long time for his one chance, something the 57-year-old Saskatchewan native made light of in his opening remarks when he thanked his wife of 23 years, Rhonda.

"I was trying to talk her into marrying me and I said 'Rhonda, I am going to be a NHL coach.' I just didn't tell her it was going to take 25 years. Anyways, I fooled her a little bit, but it's exciting."

The Canucks signed Desjardins to a four-year deal, a term the Penguins likely were not willing to match. Desjardins interviewed with the Penguins and their new general manager, Jim Rutherford, late last week.

"That is a great organization," Desjardins said of the Pens. "Jim Rutherford is a great man but there were just a couple of things that we couldn't work out. It wasn't his fault and it wasn't mine. It was just something that wouldn't work. Sidney Crosby is a heck of a player, but for me when I looked at what was here … it was the right choice to come here."

The Canucks get a career coach who has won everywhere he has coached. And he has coached just about everywhere, except in the NHL as a head coach.

Desjardins insisted he was not obsessed with that hole in his resume and acknowledged there had been doubts about whether he would get that opportunity.

"Once you pass 40 you are probably wondering if your chance is going to come," he said. "It's a great opportunity."

Both new Canucks general manager Jim Benning and president Trevor Linden talked about Desjardins being a good fit with the organization.

"This is a great way to start a very important week for our club," Linden said. "When Jim and I first met during our interview process we talked about the vision and values we wanted from our head coach … I couldn't be more pleased with how everything has unfolded. Willie ticks all the boxes we have been looking for. He is hard-working, he is down to earth, he is a very honest and genuine person, he has won everywhere he has been as a head coach, including an AHL Calder Cup championship with the Texas Stars.

“Most importantly, he shares the values and beliefs in how we feel a winning hockey team should perform. As an organization we are aligned from top to bottom, which is so important as we move forward into next season and beyond."

"His teams play fast and work extremely hard," Benning said. "They play an up-tempo, hard-skating type of game. His teams play with that relentless attitude that we want our players to play with."

Desjardins likely won't accompany Linden and Benning to the NHL draft later this week in Philadelphia. But he will begin assembling his staff of assistants.

When John Tortorella and his associate coach Mike Sullivan were fired, the Canucks retained assistants Glen Gulutzan and Darryl Williams, as well as goaltending coach Rollie Melanson.

Desjardins served as Gulutzan's associate coach for one season with the Dallas Stars and Desjardins indicated he will have to talk to Gulutzan to see what his comfort level is.

"Glen is a great guy and a really good person but he has other things he wants to do, too," Desjardins said. "It has to go both ways. He has to want to work with me as well. He has to want to say this could be a good place to be, this is what I want to do, so we have to sit down and talk about that … I won't feel any awkwardness about it, but he might. That is why we have to talk to find that out."

Former Canucks defenceman Doug Lidster, who served on Desjardins' staff in both Texas and for one season with the WHL's Medicine Hat Tigers, could be hired as his lead assistant with the Canucks.

"Doug is a great guy and has been with me through a lot so I really respect him," Desjardins said. "But it is something I want to go through with Trevor and Jim because they are part of it. We are all in this together, we all have to find a way to win together, so I'll throw it out on the table, we'll get input and then we'll come up with a solution."

In 10 seasons as a head coach in both the WHL and AHL, Desjardins has only had one losing record. That occurred in his rookie season as coach of the Medicine Hat Tigers in 2002-03. He said there is no secret to his coaching success.

"It is always your players," he said. "I have been lucky. If you look back, I can go through players with every team I have coached and they are just great players and such good people."

And yes, Desjardins thinks the Canucks have the players to rebound from last season's disaster.

"We have so many great leaders on this team," he said. "They have won in the past, they'll win again. They are just a great group."

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